BAY MINETTE, Ala. — A promoter of the Alabama Bass Trail said in June 2014 that she still planned to hold a 2015 bass fishing event at Live Oak Landing, even after the Baldwin County Commission declined to help pay for it.
Bass Trail Program Director Kay Donaldson, state Rep. Randy Davis and others attended that Tuesday’s commission meeting and unsuccessfully urged commissioners to share in the cost of staging tournament events at Live Oak from 2015 through 2018. The county’s share would have been $5,000 in each of the four years.
Commissioners balk
Commissioner Bob James questioned singling out one event for support. "We have numerous tournaments that come into this county," James said. "I have a problem treating one superior to another, and I’ve just got to get justification as to why we would do that."
Commissioner Tucker Dorsey made a motion to approve the proposal, but it died for lack of a second. James asked that the matter be placed on the next week’s work session agenda so more could be learned about the economic impact of the event and other tournaments, but Dorsey told the chairman not to bother. "I am not going to do a dog and pony show of math on a $5,000 discretionary funding," Dorsey said.
Commissioner Frank Burt Jr. also objected. "I can’t support paying somebody to come here to bass fish out of one of the most beautiful places there is in the world," Burt said.
What the money would have covered
The Alabama Bass Trail is a public-private partnership that promotes 11 lakes and rivers across the state as fishing destinations in hopes of drawing tourists. Its inaugural tournament had been held in 2014. For a 2015 event at Live Oak, the commission had been asked to provide $12,290 toward costs such as a host fee, partner fee, hotel rooms, ramp fees, portable restrooms and chairs. The county had paid $13,562 to host a tournament event at Live Oak that March, an event estimated to have had roughly a $118,000 impact on the county.
A regional pitch
Dorsey had reached out to the Mobile Sports Authority, Bay Minette Mayor Bob Wills and others about sharing the cost. "It would show some regionalism," he said. "It would show both sides of the bay are working to preserve and bring attention to the Mobile-Tensaw Delta."
Mobile Sports Authority Executive Director Danny Corte said his group was willing to discuss putting $5,000 toward the tournament, but only in years when anglers’ lodging and meetings would take place in Saraland. "We are still very supportive of what the Alabama Bass Trail wants to do," Corte said. "It’s just a question of working out the details."
The promoter presses on
Donaldson called the commission’s decision disappointing but said she still intended to bring a 2015 event to Live Oak, which had already been announced as a tournament site. She said she believed others were willing to make the needed contributions, though she declined to name them. "Just like other tournament organizations, we will continue to look for communities that want to be partners," she said. "It’s got to be a win-win for everybody."